Emotional Father’s Day campaign aims to remind smokers who they leave behind

A heart-wrenching new quit smoking campaign, to appear on Victorian television screens for the first time from tonight, asks smokers to think about the loved ones they leave behind should smoking claim their life.

The campaign developed by Cancer Council Western Australia, features brothers Ben and Luke Eliot who lost their father Neil to smoking-related lung cancer in 2007 at age 52.

The men tell the story of their devastating loss in a series of three emotional commercials, including the sadness that Neil did not live long enough to meet his first grandchild.

The brothers ask smokers "Is it worth it?"

Neil Eliot, who started smoking as a teenager, was a press photographer for almost 30 years, winning awards including a highly coveted Walkley Award.

Mr Luke Atkin, from Quit Victoria, said the message of the campaign was particularly poignant on Father's Day, with nearly 23 Victorian men losing their life to lung cancer every week in Victoria.

"Smoking is responsible for around 80 to 90% of all lung cancer cases, and sadly lung cancer continues to have one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers."

"Every one of the 23 Victorian men who lose their lives to lung cancer every week is someone's father, someone's son, someone's brother or someone's friend."

"This new campaign provides a sobering reminder of the personal and emotional impact that smoking-caused illnesses have on the lives of smokers' families, particularly their children."

Through the campaign the brothers want smokers to think about the people in their lives rather than themselves when it came to reasons to quit.

"My message to people, as a son of a 52 year old man who died as a result of lung cancer caused by smoking, would be for people to simply ask themselves is it worth it?" Luke said.

"Smoking will, without a doubt, devastate everybody who means everything to the smoker."

Ben added, "Give up for the people who care about you...give up for the people who are going to miss you."